PURRFECT FOR ME
By
Natalie Kristen
Also by NATALIE KRISTEN
MATE series
Alpha Mate
Bear Mate
Vampire Mate
Wolf Mate
Wild Mate
Dark Mate
Blood Mate
NORTH WOLVES NOVELLA
To Kill A Wolf
MISTY VALLEY SHIFTERS
Growl For Me
Fight For Me
Purrfect For Me
ALPHA GAME
Alpha Game
Alpha Game 2
Alpha Game 3
DARK erotic romance
Rapture In The Dark
Release In The Dark
One Night With Death
The Sex Machine
Copyright © 2015 Natalie Kristen
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously or are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual locales, events, establishments or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
About this book
Lindsay Stone has just stumbled home after a lovely dinner with a little too much wine when she encounters a hunky, handsome shifter right at her doorstep. He's sweet, gentlemanly and sexy as all hell.
He's a wet dream, a drunken fantasy come true.
She should invite him in, and take him to bed. Now if she can just find her house keys...
When Sean Hunter stops to help a drunk, drooling human woman, he isn't expecting the curvaceous beauty to proposition him. The sweet, luscious human seems to want him as much as he wants her. It could just be the wine, or it could be something else, something more.
One incredible, purrfect night.
A dream which isn't a dream.
When reality knocks and danger beckons, Sean and Lindsay will have to decide how far they are willing to go for each other and how much they are willing to risk for a future together.
*****
CHAPTER ONE
Lindsay Stone grimaced as she felt her hubcaps scraping along the side of the curb. Her little car wasn't a shiny, perky young thing anymore. Well, neither was she.
Lindsay huffed in annoyance. She could park better than this. But this would have to do. The wine seemed to have risen from her stomach and rushed all the way to her head. It was just a short two minute drive back from her daughter and son-in-law's place. And she had been perfectly sober when she got into her car.
She killed the engine and stumbled out of the car. At least she managed to park quite neatly next to the curb right in front of her house. Lindsay's smirk twisted into a scowl as she began to rummage through her bag for her house keys.
Now where were those damn keys? She didn't remember putting so many things in her bag. Even if she did, she would have put them neatly into compartments. She was always organized, cool and collected. Except when she wasn't. This jumbled mess inside her bag looked alien to her. Was this even her bag?
“Where are you? God damn it! Come out, come out wherever you are...” she sang through gritted teeth. Sticking her head deeper into her bag, she rooted around frantically and finally caught the telltale glint at the bottom of her bag.
“Gotcha!” Lindsay pounced on the bunch of keys and emerged from the depths of her rumpled bag with a triumphant grin.
Lindsay frowned down at her house keys and harrumphed. What now?
What was she supposed to do with these keys? Oh yes, unlock her front door and get in the house.
She spun round and tottered in the general direction of her house. She let out a noisy hiccup and clapped her hand to her mouth in mortification. “How rude!” she scolded the crack in the pavement. “You...have had too much champagne tonight! But dinner was lovely, wasn't it?” Lindsay mumbled and sighed contentedly.
She took in a deep breath and the crisp night air cleared her head a little. She did have a little too much to drink tonight, but it was a special occasion. It was her daughter, Mina's birthday. Mina was mated to Declan Grant, the Alpha of the Snow River pack. Mina and Declan were now the Alpha pair of the Snow River wolves, one of the largest wolf packs in Misty Valley. They lived in a beautiful two-story bungalow, on the same street as the rest of the Snow River wolves.
Mina and Declan had asked Lindsay to move in with them. It was Declan who'd quietly asked Lindsay after the wedding reception if she would consider moving to Misty Valley. At that time, Lindsay had said no. She had lived in New Moon City all her life. She had a job she loved and she had friends and family in the city. Besides, Misty Valley was just a few hours' drive out of New Moon City. She could visit often, she'd told Declan and Mina.
But fate intervened, as her best friend Kara, liked to say. Circumstances conspired to persuade Lindsay that it might just be the right time to make that move to Misty Valley and be with her beloved daughter and son-in-law.
Lindsay worked as a nurse in a small clinic in New Moon City. She loved her job and she loved her boss. Dr. Amir was an old, very experienced general practitioner, and his small clinic was always packed with patients. But Dr. Amir's wife had died suddenly a few months back, and her death had brought home the stark message that age was catching up with him and time was not on his side. He had been working too hard, dedicating his life to his patients, and not seeing enough of his family. Dr. Amir decided that it was time to retire and take a break from the hectic, bustling city life. He wanted to travel the country, go visit all his children who had moved out of the city and were living happy, successful lives in the smaller towns around New Moon City. “I want to spend time with my kids and my grandkids, before it's too late,” he'd told Lindsay.
Dr. Amir had written Lindsay a glowing letter of recommendation and had advised her to go on and find herself a new job. He had assured her that he could manage without her for the last few weeks of his practice. But she had stayed on to help him in his clinic. She made sure all the patient records were properly transferred to their new doctors, and she stayed back after office hours to help Dr. Amir pack all his ornaments, photographs, yellowed thank you cards and letters, and framed certificates into boxes.
Lindsay remembered blowing her nose loudly and unabashedly when she waved goodbye to her old boss for the last time. Dr. Amir's eyes were shining with tears as he waved to her from the back of his son's station wagon which was packed with squealing toddlers and smiling teenagers. His grandchildren were clearly thrilled to be driving into the city to fetch Gramps back to their place. She'd watched the bouncing, tooting car turn out into the highway leading out of the city until she couldn't see Dr. Amir and his family anymore. They were gone.
With her kindly boss gone, she'd suddenly felt lost and sad. She'd gone home and sat down alone at the kitchen table in her empty apartment. The apartment suddenly felt too quiet, too empty, and the city just felt too big and cold. She did still have her cousins, aunts and friends in the city, but it just wasn't the same. She missed her darling daughter terribly.
She had brought Mina up single-handedly, and they shared a very close, special bond. Lindsay had gotten knocked up by her first boyfriend when she was twenty, and the coward had run off the moment he learned that Lindsay was pregnant. When she first held Mina in her arms, she rememb
ered thinking that her baby was simply the most beautiful, amazing thing she had ever seen.
Mina was her baby, her family, her closest and dearest, her sweet, darling baby girl. They were very much alike, in looks and in personality. They both had unruly red curls, deep gray eyes and they much preferred their old, torn denims to lacy, frilly frocks.
In recent years, Lindsay had gotten used to hearing the compliment: “You two look like sisters!” Lindsay would wink at Mina and giggle as Mina rolled her eyes.
Well, her baby girl was now a beautiful, strong, young woman, mate of the Snow River Alpha and a powerful werewolf herself. Declan Grant had completed Mina's turning to save her life and her sanity after she had been viciously attacked by a rival werewolf pack. Her baby was now a full-fledged Alpha werewolf, one who was very happily, blissfully married to a wonderful, lovely man. Lindsay loved her son-in-law dearly as well. She saw how much Declan loved Mina and how deeply he cared for her. She knew without a doubt that Declan was the one for her Mina.
Lindsay's eyes blurred and she hurriedly dabbed away her tears. She sniffed and shook her head. These were happy tears. She was so happy for her daughter. And she was happy that she had made the move from New Moon City to Misty Valley.
She had been living in Misty Valley for a couple of weeks now. She had been a city gal all her life, and she was surprised to find that she rather enjoyed the peace and quiet here. Of course the best part about living in Misty Valley was that she could visit her daughter whenever she wanted. She loved being close to Mina and Declan but she didn't want to crowd them.
She had insisted on getting her own place. She had enough savings and she intended to look for a job once she got settled in Misty Valley. She'd staunchly refused to move in with Declan and Mina, even though they kept telling her that there were more than enough spare rooms in their bungalow. “You'll need to prepare the nursery,” she'd quipped. “I'm looking forward to grandkids. Don't make me wait too long. I'm getting old, you know.” Mina had blushed furiously and huffed at her, “I'm not having a litter of ankle-biters anytime soon. And you are not getting old, Mom! You're only forty-three!”
Lindsay grinned at the prospect of being surrounded by a troop of rambunctious ankle-biters. She loved kids. They brought such joy and laughter. If she hadn't been a nurse, she would most likely have been a preschool teacher.
Lindsay swayed and took a few unsteady steps forward. Jerking her head up, she cursed and swore loudly, “What the...! Damn, I've been walking in circles!” She should be at her front door by now. Instead, she was still standing in the middle of the sidewalk.
“Snap to it, Lindsay!” she commanded herself in a deep baritone, mimicking her next door neighbor. Old Mr Holt was a widower who lived with a well-trained poodle in the bright yellow house beside hers. Lindsay could hear Mr Holt shouting commands to his dog in sharp, military tones throughout the day.
Lindsay surveyed her squat, one-bedroom house with a satisfied smile. She liked her little house very much. She had bargained down the price and issued a check for it on the spot. She knew she was lucky to have gotten a house that quickly and at such a good price. Luck and fate definitely played a part.
Fate sometimes brought you some very nice surprises, but—fate was known to pull some nasty pranks as well.
Lindsay sighed tiredly. She wanted to crawl into bed and sleep off this pounding headache. But first, she had to get into her house. As she tried to separate her front door key from the jumbled bunch of keys in her fist, she hiccuped violently and the keys slipped through her fingers and clattered on the sidewalk.
“No!' she wailed and dropped to her hands and knees. She patted the pavement in frustration. Where the hell were those keys? Did keys have legs? They couldn't have just scuttled off into the bushes now, could they?
Lindsay groaned and grumbled as she crawled along the sidewalk. She pressed a hand to the side of her head in a vain attempt to stop that dreadful pounding. Mina was wrong. She was getting old.
She couldn't seem to hold her liquor so well now. She had felt perfectly fine at Declan and Mina's house. Heck, she'd even beaten Declan at a game of cards. She had been sober, sharp and alert. It was Mina who was giggling nonstop and wobbling on her feet. Lindsay had assured Declan that she could drive the short distance home and she'd insisted that he stay home to take care of Mina. It was just a small intimate dinner, just the three of them. Mina didn't want to involve the whole Snow River pack. She had wanted to celebrate her birthday with just her mom and her mate.
Mina had wanted Lindsay to live on the same street as the rest of the Snow River wolves. But that was a little too close for comfort for Lindsay. She liked the Snow River wolves well enough. They were polite and friendly to her, but she just didn't want to live among the wolves. Besides, she liked her independence, her space. She had always been independent. She'd been a young single mom. She had to be independent, and strong enough, for the both of them.
Her house was in neutral territory, in a part of town not owned by any of the shifter packs and clans. Many human families and a few reclusive, eccentric witches lived in her neighborhood. She had no complaints, yet she couldn't help feeling a little bit...empty, of late. Lonely.
What was it? Empty nest syndrome? Midlife crisis? Menopause? And she thought she was adjusting so well.
Lindsay narrowed her eyes. She was still on her knees, squinting down at the pavement. Was she feeling lonely in this town? Mina had encouraged her to go out and get to know the townsfolk, maybe even go on a date or two.
Lindsay chuffed. A date? What was that? She couldn't even remember the last time she had gone out on a date. And the last time she had gotten laid was when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Yes, dinosaurs. She had much in common with them. They were both old, dried, shriveled up fossils.
“Now, why am I kneeling out here?” Lindsay muttered with a frown. She was looking for something, or was it someone?
She hiccuped again, and some champagne bubbled up her throat. She swallowed and made a face. How many glasses had she imbibed? It had been such a warm, lovely evening. She had been laughing and chatting, eating and drinking too much.
“Ah...” With a jerk, Lindsay doubled over and retched.
Faintly, she heard a step behind her.
“Are you all right, Ma'am?”
Lindsay felt a hand on her back. She blinked up into a pair of intense amber eyes. Those deep, piercing eyes were set in a strong, handsome face, and that sexy face was connected to broad shoulders which flowed into nice, muscular arms. One of those strong, sexy arms was around her waist, holding her up.
“Oh.” Lindsay gasped at the handsome stranger. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you're all right.”
Lindsay hiccuped and gave a lopsided smile. “I am now.”
The man gave her a small, tight smile and she saw laugh lines radiating from the corner of his eyes. She thought the lines made him look even sexier. The man was tall, very tall, definitely more than six feet, and he had wavy salt and pepper hair that was tousled just right. She had the craziest urge to rake her fingers through his hair.
Bedroom hair. And bedroom eyes.
Lindsay stumbled back at the thought. The sight and proximity of this tall, handsome stranger hammered a single word into her alcohol-addled brain. Bedroom.
“Mmmm,” she smiled appreciatively, shamelessly letting her eyes roam all over him.
She liked what she saw. Yum, this man was sex on a stick.
He looked to be in his mid-forties or so. His features were strong, chiseled, and his ripped body was shown to perfect advantage by a white t-shirt and faded jeans. The t-shirt stretched snugly over a broad, powerful chest and bulging biceps. His amber eyes seemed to glow as they gazed down at her.
Lindsay giggled like a schoolgirl and promptly clapped her hand over her mouth. This man had walked right out of her wet dreams and into her drunken fantasy.
“Am I..
.in bed?” she slurred.
“No ma'am. You're standing on the sidewalk, in front of your house. I presume this is your house.” He turned her shoulders slightly so that she was facing her house.
“Yes! Yes, that's my house!” she squeaked. “I...I think I dropped my keys...somewhere...”
The man bent down and scooped up her keys. “Here they are.”
“Why, thank you...” She made a swipe at them and missed.
“I think I'd better help you in,” he said, looking amused.
“That's very kind of you, young man.” She patted his cheek and sashayed up her front steps. “What's your name?” she asked over her shoulder.
He stood with her in front of her door. Turning to look her in the eye, he answered, “Sean. I'm Sean Hunter.”
“Sean,” Lindsay murmured. She liked his name already. “I'm Lindsay Stone. And I'm new in town,” she added with a seductive purr. Gosh, what was she doing? Flirting?
She was sorely out of practice, and she was probably doing it all wrong. Instead of seducing him, she was probably scaring the nice man off.
“Lindsay.”
He smiled at her, and the hard lines on his face seemed to melt away. Lindsay gasped. He was seriously, devastatingly handsome when he smiled.
“Do you...want to come in?” Lindsay blurted out before her brain could process her words. “I mean, for a cup of coffee or something?”
Or something? Seriously, Lindsay? Shut up, like now! You're making an utter fool of yourself!
Lindsay slapped her palm on her forehead.
Sean unlocked her front door and held the door open for her. “Coffee is good,” he said.
“Good...” Lindsay mumbled, tripping over the threshold and crashing headlong into her living room.
Purrfect For Me: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Misty Valley Shifters Book 3) Page 1